For years veterans in countries around the world have had to deal with the dishonesty and intransigence of their own governments in providing accurate details of what they may have been exposed to.

The U.S. is famously (infamously) no different.

But when two different countries who are allies and reasons to be ashamed get together and do this act good luck, you'll need it.

A stunning new report indicates the U.S. Navy knew that sailors from the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan took major radiation hits from the Fukushima atomic power plant after its meltdowns and explosions nearly three years ago...on March 12, 2011 the ship was within two miles of Fukushima Dai’ichi as the reactors there began to melt and explode.

In the midst of a snow storm, deck hands were enveloped in a warm cloud that came with a metallic taste. Sailors testify that the Reagan’s 5,500-member crew was told over the ship’s intercom to avoid drinking or bathing in desalinized water drawn from a radioactive sea. The huge carrier quickly ceased its humanitarian efforts and sailed 100 miles out to sea, where newly published internal Navy communications confirm it was still taking serious doses of radioactive fallout.

There are numerous indications of radiation-caused illnesses, leading to a lawsuit against the Navy and TEPCO the operator of the nuclear power plant.
Naturally, in this suit the American government is clearly up to its standard practice in protecting its service-people.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Sure, the Scottish Premier League isn't what it even used to be, as it is only half of what it once was (two dominant teams...now just one). But how could one resist this?

...a Scottish Premiership match was delayed several hours from airing on
television because fans in the crowd were swearing too loudly. The
game between St. Mirren and Ross County was supposed to be aired on tape
delay by BBC Alba in Scotland at 5:30 PM, directly after the game had
finished.
However, the game didn't air until 11 PM in the evening because the
channel had to edit out audible curse words from the Ross County crowd
at Global Energy Stadium.

Nevermind the ongoing embarrassment a similar bill caused Arizona -- the thought of having a chance to kick certain people out of diners has an appeal to some in the South, tradition and all that.

A bill moving swiftly through the Georgia House of Representatives would allow business owners who believe homosexuality is a sin to openly discriminate against gay Americans by denying them employment or banning them from restaurants and hotels.

Not only identical to Arizona's awful attempt, but particularly rich coming from one of the ol' cornerstones of the Confederacy.

Researchers say radioactive cesium isotopes from Japan's severely damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant have made their way to the waters just off the coast of Canada.
Scientists confirmed the arrival of radioactive Fukushima water at the annual American Geophysical Union's Ocean Sciences Meeting in Honolulu today

The good news is, the initial readings show a low level of radioactivity. So nothing to worry about.
Meanwhile, at the same time in Japan.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) is re-analyzing 164 water samples collected last year at the wrecked Fukushima atomic plant because previous readings “significantly undercounted” radiation levels.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

A Ugandan newspaper published a list Tuesday of what it called the country's "200 top" homosexuals, outing some Ugandans who previously had not identified themselves as gay one day after the president enacted a harsh anti-gay law...

The Red Pepper tabloid published the names — and some pictures — of alleged homosexuals in a front-page story under the headline: "EXPOSED!"

The list included prominent Ugandan gay activists such as Pepe Julian Onziema, who has repeatedly warned that Uganda's new anti-gay law could spark violence against homosexuals.

Some Kansas lawmakers are worried about those precious bodily fluids.
The Kansas House's Health and Human Services Committee has on its agenda Monday a bill that would require cities to warn citizens if fluoride is added to drinking water. The measure, which declares fluoride dangerous, has been criticized by public health officials and the Kansas Dental Association, according to The Associated Press.

When you are digging up policy punch lines used against you 50 years ago...you might be a Red State.

Well, yesterday morning it appeared that Uganda's awful President would delay the signing of it's reprehensible proposed law making being gay illegal. Forced, it appeared by the power of moral condemnation, by the international community -- including the American government.

At a public ceremony in a packed room at the State House in Entebbe, Yoweri Museveni
formally initialled the anti-homosexuality act, which also outlaws the
promotion of homosexuality and requires citizens to denounce to the
police anyone suspected of being gay. "No study has shown you can be
homosexual by nature. That's why I have agreed to sign the bill,"
Museveni said in a speech at the presidential palace near the capital,
Kampala.

"Outsiders cannot dictate to us. This is our country. I
advise friends from the west not to make this an issue, because if they
make it an issue the more they will lose. If the west does not want to
work with us because of homosexuals, then we have enough space to
ourselves here."

Ironically, and just as tragically, with a few replaced words a Dixiecrat of the 1950s could not have stated it more offensively.

There is, of course, substantial economic pressure the West can bring on Uganda (foreign assistance is one-third of the nation's government budget). Unfortunately, a huge portion of that aid comes in the form of food and medical assistance.

Because clearly famine and illness are not Uganda's problem, gay people are. And yes, it it hard to roll my eyes that much.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Many in Abbott's conservative base agree with Nugent's pro-gun views, as does Abbott. But Nugent's description of Obama as a "communist-nurtured, subhuman mongrel" in a January interview amounts to racism, critics say.

Currently executive vice president of the conservative Family Research Council, Boykin put in an appearance at a conference for "pro-family legislators" last November, where he offered his gospel of Jesus Christ as a rough-and-tumble bloodthirsty Rambo.
No, really. Not metaphorically: Really. Jesus is a killer, He wants you to be armed with an assault rifle like His when He comes to claim the throne of the King of Kings, and the Second Amendment was His idea all along. Right Wing Watch just obtained audio of the event, and it is in-fucking-sane:

Walmart, America’s largest private employer, said Wednesday it is looking into supporting an increase in the federal minimum wage.
The surprise move from the giant retailer comes after it has resisted years of protests from workers and union leaders to increase wages.
Bloomberg News, which broke the news, said company spokesman David Tovar was looking at improving wages for its US workers so that they would have “additional income”.

And by "looking at" of course they mean, just not verbally oppose so publicly.

Scott Walker, who with the backing of the Koch-Brothers has hopes of making it two out the the last three Presidents with the beady, close-set-eyes, of a stereotypical simpleton, has hit a snag.
Perhaps a snag as metaphorically big as that created on the George Washington Bridge by his biggest competitor?

At a secret hearing the day before the 2010 election, an investigator for the Milwaukee County district attorney testified that he had uncovered email evidence that Scott Walker, then-county executive, was likely aware of campaigning by his staff on county time using laptops and a wireless internet router.
That very afternoon, Nov. 1, 2010, officers seized computer hard drives and other equipment from the suite of offices occupied by Walker and his staff. The next day, Walker was elected governor.

A new highlight in the history of American jurisprudence, but one example of how Missoula County, Montana dispensed justice between the genders.

...federal officials said, when one mother asked a county attorney why an adolescent boy who assaulted her 5-year-old daughter had only received two years of community service, the attorney responded, "boys will be boys."

And assholes will be assholes.

Federal investigators added that Missoula prosecutors had failed to pursue "nearly every case" where a mentally or physically disabled woman claimed sexual assault, "even in cases where there was evidence such as a confession or incriminating statements by the perpetrator."

Baugh generated outrage in August after sentencing high school teacher Stacey Dean Rambold to 15 years in prison with all but one month suspended. Rambold had pleaded guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent and had been kicked out of a sexual offender treatment program for breaking rules.During the hearing, Baugh blamed Rambold’s 14-year-old victim, who committed suicide before the case went to trial.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Researchers claim a new study provides some of the most compelling evidence yet for tighter gun controls in the US.
The team followed the consequences of the State of Missouri repealing its permit-to-purchase handgun law in 2007.

The law had required purchasers to be vetted by the local sheriff and to receive a licence before buying a gun.

Reporting soon in the Journal of Urban Health, the
researchers will say that the repeal resulted in an immediate spike in
gun violence and murders.

The study links the abandonment of the background check to an
additional 60 or so murders occurring per year in Missouri between 2008
and 2012.

"Coincident exactly with the policy change, there was an
immediate upward trajectory to the homicide rates in Missouri," said
Prof Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy
and Research.

And undoubtedly, nothing more will be heard of this study again.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

The ever going battle between the world's two largest sports organizations (the International Olympic Committee and FIFA) over who is the most venal and corrupt continues.

More than 400 Nepalese migrant workers have died on Qatar's building sites as the Gulf state prepares to host the World Cup in 2022, a report will reveal this week.

The grim statistic comes from the Pravasi Nepali Co-ordination Committee, a respected human rights
organisation which compiles lists of the dead using official sources
in Doha. It will pile new pressure on the Qatari authorities – and on
football's world governing body, Fifa – to curb a mounting death toll that some are warning could hit 4,000 by the time the 2022 finals take place.
.

When contemplating that number, remember this is just an estimate of deaths from one nationality. Nepalese are just one-fifth of the migrant worker population employed in Qatar. That means, the number of dead committed in the name of soccer's governing body will be approximately 20,000.

According to German paper Die Welt, a person only identified as a “senior FIFA employee” said that despite FIFA’s public claims that they are adamant about making Qatar 2022 work, moving the event to another country is a “serious option.”

And I'm sure FIFA's governing body is going to keep saying that until their board members get as many euros, dollars, or francs, that Qatar's ruling family can transfer to a Zurich bank account.

Friday, February 14, 2014

On a day where performance artist (Ayn Rand Division) Rand Paul hilariously managed to file a lawsuit that, true to his record, was plagiarized comes this.

Brent Bozell uses his books and columns to rail against liberal media
bias and dishonesty, but he reportedly doesn't write a word.

Jim Romenesko
spoke to some people affiliated with Bozell's Media Research Center and
learned from a former employee that the group's media analysis
director, Tim Graham, writes “almost everything published under
[Bozell's] name.”

The former employee also noted that, despite not actually writing any
of the content, Bozell still collects 80-90 percent of the profits.

Like Paul, Bozell is someone who decries government affirmative action programs while essentially inheriting his position from daddy. Unlike Paul, Bozell has done it while wearing the world's ickiest ginger-beard.

The president of Creators Syndicate, which carries the column, told
Romenesko that it's "absolutely false to say that Brent Bozell does not
write his column," but nevertheless, Bozell and Graham will begin
sharing a byline.

Which member of Congress is (probably) emailing other members crazy threats? BuzzFeed’s John Stanton reports that a number of House Republicans received emails — sent to their internal congressional email addresses, addresses that are extremely difficult to find for non-members — in which an anonymous person threatened to politically ruin members who vote to raise the debt limit. The author first sent the cryptic threats to Speaker John Boehner and Rep. James Lankford, and then forwarded the emails to other members.
...
Who could’ve sent these strange emails?

“It’s got to be another member. Probably one of the crazy ones,” said a Republican who had seen the email, which was sent from an anonymous email address, unrepresentative1@gmx.com.

One of the "crazy" Republicans?
That narrows it down as much as if they had said, "Probably an overweight white guy".

As I am 48 going on 14, I do enjoy playing the normal card game with friends, and I have Netflix, so synergy can be funny.

Ahead of the highly anticipated Season 2 release of the original series, Chicago-based Cards Against Humanity has teamed up with the streaming site to release a “House of Cards Against Humanity” expansion pack.

Britain's third-biggest bank said up to 9 percent of employees could go, including 7,000 in Britain, as it tries to lower costs. The cuts are not concentrated in any one business area.
It said it paid 2.4 billion pounds ($3.9 billion) in incentive awards last year, raising bonuses at the investment bank by 13 percent despite a slump in its profits. The average bonus for the investment bank's 26,200 staff was 60,100 pounds.

Productivity of our richest employees down...only one solution -- fire the more productive other employees and pay the rich people more.
Thomas Perkins would approve, obviously. After all, to not pay the rich even more would be another "Cristal-nacht".
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Donald Trump has lost a legal action against a major experimental windfarm being built close to his golf resort in Aberdeenshire.

The billionaire property developer had alleged that Alex Salmond, Scotland's
first minister, had secretly interfered in the decision to approve the
11-turbine European offshore wind deployment centre site (EOWDC) in
Aberdeen Bay – a claim rejected on Tuesday by a Scottish civil court
judge, Lord Doherty.

Making clear he was expecting to appeal,
Trump alleged there had been clear and illegal bias by the Scottish
government – and that his rights under the European convention of human
rights had been breached.

Doherty dismissed the claims that
Salmond had interfered, stating he "was not persuaded that the
fair-minded and informed observer would conclude that there was a real
possibility of bias on the part of the decision-maker; or that the
decision not to have a public inquiry had been unreasonable or
unlawful".

Trump is always amongst the first (in alternate days) to want to either bomb somebody or the first (in the other day) to charge the people who bombed as being war criminals -- so for him to play the human rights card is as pathetic and hilarious as his faux-bangs.

This sounds all Atrios-y, but I'm glad somebody in some bit of charge is saying something.

Yellen took over from Bernanke just as the recovery in the jobs
market appears to have stalled. In January, the US added just 113,000
new jobs, up from an even more disappointing 75,000 in December. Both
figures were well below economists’ forecasts. Last year, the economy
added an average of 194,000 jobs per month.

“I was surprised that
the jobs reports in December and January, the pace of job creation, was
running under what I had anticipated. But we have to be very careful not
to jump to conclusions in interpreting what those reports mean,” she
said. She said the extremely cold winter may have affected the numbers.

Hundreds of Eritrean refugees have been enslaved in torture camps in Sudan and Egypt
in the past 10 years, enduring weeks or months of violence and rape and
extorted by traffickers often in collusion with state security forces...

Against all logic and evidence...and hardly for the first time, the GOP and its base seem determined to refight all the old battles they have lost before and in the most inappropriate way.

Because this time it will definitely work!

Priebus said Monday on MSNBC that the Monica Lewinsky scandal is fair game when it comes to evaluating Hillary Clinton's potential presidential bid.
"I think everything's on the table," Priebus told Andrea Mitchell.

Because there is no more aspirational idea for the Republicans than the sanctity of the family unit...other than, of course, Bill Clinton's terrorist unit.

Monday, February 10, 2014

I always figured an already established NFL player would come out first, but props to prospective draft choice Michael Sam for having the guts to do so before he even has a career. It's very big deal someone at that stage would have the guts to come out.

As there are "officially" no gay people in Sochi, why not have fake-lesbians perform in the opening ceremonies, right?

In a provocative choice, Russian singers Tatu will perform before the
3,000 athletes march through a stadium on the shores of the Black Sea,
one of the many newly built facilities in the most expensive Olympics in
history.

The women in Tatu put on a lesbian act that is largely
seen as an attention-getting gimmick. It contrasts with the very real
anger over a Russian law banning gay "propaganda" aimed at minors that
is being used to discriminate against gays.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen would have been there with another pair of machine guns by Danny Montana's side if she could have, so the only surprise is these two are not Cuban.

Sen. Robert Menendez is under
federal investigation for his advocacy on behalf of two Ecuadorian
bankers convicted of embezzlement. Turns out he wasn’t the only
prominent lawmaker accepting donations and doing favors for the
brothers.

Florida
Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, while she was Chairwoman
of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter to federal
agencies on behalf of two Ecuadorian bankers convicted of embezzlement
who were seeking U.S. residency. She also advocated for their family
members, who donated over $20,000 to her campaign.

Norway’s Minister of Health and Care Services, Bent Høie, has decided to comment on the Russian propaganda laws by taking his husband, advertising exec Dag Terje Solvang, to Sochi.
Bent Høie, who holds a position in the Norwegian government comparable to our Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, waved his status like a red cape before a bull, daring the Russians to object. Minister Høie doubled down on his strategy, telling Norway’s Stavanger Aftenblad newspaper, that it is a normal for a cabinet minister to travel with a spouse on an official visit.

And the surprising thing is...there may be some sort of assignment of responsibility. Maybe.

Last year, in the immediate wake of the murder of three Los Angeles Officers by Christopher Dorner, this happened.

At some point, the officers received a report that a pickup truck resembling Dorner’s was seen in the area of the house they were guarding. Shortly after 5 a.m., a truck turned onto the street.
As the vehicle approached the house, officers opened fire, unloading a barrage of bullets into the truck. When the shooting stopped, they realized their mistake. The truck was a different make and model. The color wasn't gray, as Dorner’s was, but blue. And it wasn't Dorner inside the truck, but a woman and her mother delivering copies of the Los Angeles Times.

A tragic, but clearly foreseeable event. And those officers, the Chief of Police, Charley Beck, decided after a year...violated Departmental policy.

On his book promotion tour, when fielding curiously softball questions from Jon Stewart,
Gates assumed the admonitory tone of a statesman in saying that
presidents are perhaps too quick to reach for military solutions to
foreign policy problems. This from a defense secretary who lobbied for
and administered the military escalations of two wars, one of which US
troops are still fighting! One wonders whether this statement derived
from his certainty that he could con Stewart, or from an autistic lack
of self-awareness. In any case, Stewart did not follow up.

Let's just add this to the top-five or so reasons the next time somebody asks "why do they hate us?"

The incidence of cancer globally has increased in just four years
from 12.7m in 2008 to 14.1m new cases in 2012, when there were 8.2m
deaths. Over the next 20 years, it is expected to hit 25m a year – a 70%
increase.

The biggest burden will be in low- and middle-income
countries. They are hit by two types of cancers – those triggered by
infections, such as cervical cancers, which are still very prevalent in
poorer countries that don't have screening, let alone the HPV vaccine,
and increasingly cancers associated with more affluent lifestyles "with
increasing use of tobacco, consumption of alcohol and highly processed
foods and lack of physical activity", writes the World Health
Organisation director general, Margaret Chan, in an introduction to the
report.

And as tradition dictates in the West, we'll cash their checks and say "You're welcome".

It is 2014, not 1964 or 1914, and yet on Wednesday night a black man in Missouri, a black man convicted by an all-white jury, was executed before his federal appeals had been exhausted. He was executed just moments after reportedly being hauled away by prison guards while he was in the middle of a telephone call discussing his appeals with one of his attorneys. He was executed even though state officials knew that the justices of the United States Supreme Court still were considering his request for relief.

Since it has gone down the memory-hole as other nation's civil wars and other more important news (Bieber!) have occurred, let us return to austerity's poster-country, Greece.
For the last half-decade's worth of its citizens being brutalized by international bankers IS...NOT...ENOUGH!

Germany has signalled it is preparing a third rescue package for Greece – provided the debt-stricken country implements "rigorous"austerity measures blamed for record levels of unemployment and a dramatic drop in GDP.

Because making the national-sport/way-of-living dumpster diving is not enough austerity for those who exploited it into that position.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]